Writing as the dad: hiring Mari made all the difference. She helped me understand my role in the…read moreprocess - what to do, when to step in, when to step back - which turned out to be huge during some critical decision moments. I came out of it more connected to my wife and our daughter than I ever expected. Warm, knowledgeable, never pushes an agenda. Highly recommend.

Had a great experience with Hope and Isabel! Made our life a lot easier and brought so much care…read moreand love to our little boy and family! Would certainly recommend them to anyone needing doula support!

I cannot recommend Marilou at Doulas by the Bay highly enough. She was our postpartum night doula…read morefor the first few weeks after our son was born, and she was incredible. As new parents, the sleep deprivation is real, but knowing she was there allowed us to finally get the much-needed rest we required to function. Beyond just being a set of expert hands, she became a trusted guide for us and taught us invaluable newborn care tips that we still use daily. We trusted her implicitly with our baby from night one which was critical for us as anxious new parents. Marilou's calm, professional, and warm presence made us feel so at ease during a very vulnerable time. We truly loved our time with her and are so grateful for the care she provided. If you are looking for a doula who is knowledgeable, nurturing, and completely trustworthy, Marilou is amazing!

We had an incredible experience with Sally for our son from when he was 1-3 months. She was…read moreconsistently punctual, professional, and incredibly kind. Beyond just helping with night feeds, she took the initiative with bottles and laundry, which was a huge help to our family. We felt completely at ease knowing our little one was in such caring hands. In addition, she helped with sleep training. Additionally, the office staff was a pleasure to work with. They were extremely professional and maintained a quick turnaround time on all our requests and paperwork. We highly recommend this team for anyone looking for top-tier newborn care!

11/10 highly recommend BAND and our night doula Margaret M!…read more BAND: We had a very positive experience using BAND. This was our first time looking for doulas and using BAND saved us time, energy, and anxiety. We provided our details and quickly got matched with vetted doulas. All in all, took us about 2 weeks from initial inquiry with BAND to signed contract. Our night doula: Margaret M helped us for 8 weeks, starting at just under 1 week old. After the first night, we knew we made the right decision for our family (second time parents with a 3yo). Margaret has a warm and calm presence and knows babies. We had forgotten things about the newborn stage but Margaret provided reassurance and shared her knowledge and encouragement. She was always on time, communicated well, recommended items and processes to improve baby's care and safety, helped mom with nursing sessions and later bottle feeding to extend mom's sleep, washed bottles and pump parts and even random dishes. She was flexible and worked with us, whatever came up. After 8 weeks, our baby is sleeping well at night. Mom and dad are well rested, allowing us to actually enjoy this precious time. Even our toddler would ask about Margaret on the nights she wasn't with us. We'll miss having her around! Thank you, Margaret!

We're so grateful for our amazing night doula, Aishling M. She was kind, calming, knowledgeable,…read moreand such a huge support during those exhausting newborn weeks. Knowing our baby was in such loving hands helped us actually rest. She cared for our baby with so much love and professionalism, we are endlessly grateful for her time with our family. We'd recommend her wholeheartedly to any family!

Sharon Economides was my Lactation Consultant when my newborn was having trouble latching, due to…read morewhat was assumed to be flat nipples. I had been using a shield recommended to me, but my baby was not putting back on her birth weight. On the first visit, within the first few minutes Sharon was able to get my baby to latch properly without the shield! Just by making a few simple suggestions around my babies position and using a pump to help pull the nipple out a little more, my baby was able to latch and begin to nurse properly. Sharon is not only very knowledgeable in her field, but she has a really good vibe to her, making mama and baby feel comfortable. With her down to earth personality and her calm presence, she is able to communicate the information she needs to relay with great ease. Sharon was also very helpful by phone, text and e-mail and was quick to respond when questions which came up between the few sessions we met. I highly recommend any new mama to Sharon. Nursing is not intuitive and if you are having trouble getting started, you will be happy you contacted Sharon so that you and your baby can begin a nursing rhythm that will bring you both great joy and love.

I am forever grateful to Sharon for her care during my pregnancy and birth of my second child. It…read morewas such a world of difference from the first time around. My OB was nice enough, but would spend maybe 5 minutes tops just to check the baby's vitals and then usher me out the door. My OB wasn't available for my first birth, and I ended up with a surly OB at delivery that I definitely wouldn't have picked myself. I decided the second time around that I wanted a more personal level of care, and I'm so glad I went with Coastal Maternity. Sharon always gave me her undivided attention during our prenatal and postnatal visits. She was so thorough and knowledgeable, and she made sure to address any questions I had (or didn't know I had!). She brought things for me like books, tea, website recommendations, etc. She was always available via email or phone if any questions or concerns came up between visits. She also struck just the right balance for me between "crunchy" and conventional, meaning that she could readily recommend holistic remedies like acupuncture while also putting in orders for bloodwork or ultrasounds if needed. Visits definitely involved more than just checking the baby's heartbeat...She also took my well-being fully into account, as well as my husband and toddler. That level of care for my entire family meant so much to me. Personalities can factor into one's decision when choosing a midwife, but Sharon is so warm, calm, and grounded that I would imagine that she could work with just about anybody. She has such a seamless and intuitive way of knowing when to jump in and lead and when to step back and let you take the wheel. This was exactly what I needed during my labor and birth. She was there every step of the way to help me keep my focus and stay strong. She understood and respected my wishes but also knew when to make helpful suggestions and try new things if I was feeling stuck. I ended up with an empowering home birth experience that I will cherish forever. I highly recommend Sharon and Coastal Maternity!

We are so grateful for the day doula support and care that we received from Ludgy during the…read morenewborn stage. She was great with our son and was also very supportive to us as parents with encouragement, guidance, and help throughout the day. Ludgy was also very flexible when needed and definitely brought peace of mind during a time where I felt overwhelmed and in need of rest. We highly recommend Ludgy to any family needing postpartum support.

Ludgy cared for my daughter as a daytime doula from the time she was two months until she started…read moredaycare at four months old. Initially we had only planned on 8 weeks but we extended for another month when we realized the huge value, insight and care she brought to our family. From our initial phone call, she listened to our concerns and challenges and proactively offered tips and advice. She also had alot of great product recommendations to make our lives easier, and even went out of her way to get a secondhand bottle sterilizer from a former client since I was reluctant to spend money on more baby supplies. Ludgy was confident in care and very attentive to my daughter. She played and sang with her, supporting her as she did her first roll at three months old! It was a relief to know that my daughter was in good hands while I rested or did errands. This is my last baby, but if we had another I would definitely want Ludgy to come back! We miss her!!

As a new parent, the postpartum period is challenging enough without having to deal with the stress…read moreand disappointment of a difficult agency. While Stork and Sprout does have some excellent doulas on its team who provided great support and coaching, my experience with the agency's leadership was overwhelmingly negative. We had a particularly difficult time with Brittany. She demonstrated a pattern of manipulation, gaslighting, and lying, both to us and, from what I understand, to her own employees. Our contract promised consistent coverage, but the scheduling was erratic and communication was poor. We were left to wonder many nights if we would have support, and for several weeks, we only received 1 to 2 days of support instead of the 6 to 7 we paid for. When we requested a refund for the services not provided, Brittany refused and even fought our bank with out-of-context emails and more lies. She claims she "offered a refund" but is even today refusing to honor it as she says in the response. The lack of professionalism extended to some of the staff as well; one sick doula was sent to our home and intentionally caused our newborn physical pain. Brittany treated us like we were the difficult ones and responded with empathy-less chatGPT emails to manage the situation. We were also led to believe we would have one primary doula with a backup, but over the course of our service, we had seven different doulas come to our home. This complete lack of continuity made an already difficult period even more stressful. Based on my experience, I would advise new parents to skip Stork and Sprout and work directly with an independent doula. You will not only save the 30-40% extra fee the agency charges for scheduling, but you will also avoid the toxic and difficult management. This experience is unacceptable for a service that costs tens of thousands of dollars and demands payment upfront months ahead of providing the service. We were not able to switch easily due to the inflexible Carrot reimbursement process through the employer.

I truly couldn't have accomplished my VBAC goals without the incredible support of the Stork and…read moreSprout birth doula team. From the very first moment I needed them through labor and all the way until I was settled into the maternity floor with my new little boy, they were there every step of the way. Their calm presence, deep knowledge, encouragement, and advocacy made all the difference during such an intense and meaningful experience. I felt supported, empowered, and never alone. I am beyond grateful for their care and dedication and would wholeheartedly recommend Stork and Sprout to anyone preparing for birth--especially those pursuing a VBAC.

Victoria was so helpful and thoughtful during our tough transition to becoming first time parents…read more Due to some minor complications, it was tough for me to move around the first couple of weeks post partum and so Victoria provided some much needed relief to my partner in learning new tasks (reorganizing our changing station to be more efficient, sanitizing pump equipment, baby wearing, etc.) and even household chores like laundry. Victoria also provided really helpful tips and tricks on how to put baby to sleep, support their development during awake times, and just general guidance on what to expect and how to cope. For me, her help during the long night shifts allowed me to get more rest and recover faster. She brought such kindness and warmth to the table in addition to her knowledge and skill, it felt very much like a lifesaver, esp since we do not have a lot of support in the form of family close by (and sometimes family support is actually also not that helpful). Our baby also loved Victoria and was very calm when she was interacting with him (showing us it was possible to have a diaper change without crying haha). We know we can trust Victoria with our newborn and so even went to have lunch without baby while knowing baby was in good hands. We likely would not trust anyone else to take care of baby at this early stage without our close supervision. TL;DR: Highly recommend Victoria who provided invaluable support and guidance during our transition to becoming parents.

Victoria worked for us for several months late last year supporting my wife once our baby girl was…read moreborn. I cannot say enough about how attentive she was to everything. She was always on time and extremely competent caring for our baby and my wife as she recovered. We were very lucky to have her and highly recommend her. The Gilberts

We hired Jenny to be our postpartum doula with the idea that she would be with us for about 3…read moreweeks. Fast forward to 4+ months of Jenny helping me find my way through new motherhood, maternity leave and the physical experience of being postpartum. After the first day I knew that having Jenny in our lives, mainly as my support, would be hands down the best decision we made as new parents. Right from the beginning she intuitively knew how to come in with her gentle and kind spirit and be helpful. She would support me in taking care of myself, watching the baby so I could eat, shower, sleep. She was happy to help with laundry, dishes or cooking. She was such a wealth of knowledge when I needed someone to bounce my new-mom anxieties off of. She is an AMAZING masseuse. She was great at giving little shoulder and feet rubs when she was at the house and I've also hired her for two full body massages, which were amazing. She checked all of the boxes in terms of helping out with the baby and around the house. But most importantly for me, she was someone I felt completely comfortable being vulnerable with. If you're someone who is used to handling things quite well on your own, motherhood can be a trip... Jenny made it easy for this go-getter to admit fear or confusion and ask for help. I never felt that her presence required more energy on my part (an introverts dream) she seemed to know if I was in the mood to chat, or just needed quiet without me having to say so. I could literally write 20 paragraphs about Jenny and our experience with her. We called her my son's "best friend," she feels like family to us and I could not recommend her more highly. If you hire Jenny you'll only be sad that you can't turn her into your child's nanny and keep her forever, like we tried to.

Perspective from a new dad:…read more My wife and I hired Jenny because we felt that she understood our concerns around childbirth; while we knew we'd have great healthcare in the Bay Area, we wanted to make sure we had an advocate for our family in the delivery room (not just agents of the hospital). At first we weren't sure what kind of doula would be right for us, as we were a couple of scientists looking for an experienced hand to guide us through the process, not... hippies. With her calm and gentle demeanor, Jenny was more than accommodating during our initial meeting. Throughout our pregnancy, Jenny provided us the research behind any suggestions she made and wasn't dogmatic about any one approach. As a prospective father, Jenny listened to me and made my concerns heard, too. Of course, I played a much smaller part in the engagement, but I appreciated that I wasn't an afterthought. Jenny was very helpful in giving both of us tips and exercises to do to prepare my wife for childbirth. Where Jenny's services really shined was, of course, during the big event. We called her when my wife started feeling early contractions on a Saturday morning and into the evening (10pm) and throughout the night (2am to 4am). She was responsive to text and phone calls throughout. We went to UCSF to see how dilated my wife was, and unfortunately we found out she wasn't that far along, so we returned home to Oakland. The next morning, things were _really_ picking up. We called Jenny over and my wife's water broke on Jenny's way over. When Jenny arrived, she assessed the situation and said we should call and start heading to a hospital. Then, the hospital recommended we call 911. While I coordinated the paramedics and firefighters that were taking my laboring wife into an ambulance, Jenny was coaching my wife and helping her deal with the intensity of the surges. I would not have been able to give my wife the support she needed without Jenny's help. The paramedics didn't think imminent birth was likely at all, but Jenny trusted my wife's instincts, despite the fact that she wasn't showing the traditional contraction pattern that indicates active labor! Jenny continued to help her through the contractions from the front seat of the ambulance. Ten minutes later, as that ambulance flung open its doors at the hospital, out came our baby's head. One more push and our son was born healthy as my wife was being rolled into the Emergency Department! Jenny helped us have the most wonderful (and adventurous) birth story, and we're so thankful for her help.

Oh my god. Your search is over. Hire this amazing human being NOW…read more We hired Elizabeth for our first pregnancy and we regret nothing. We were already taking classes and knew I needed more support than just my already sleep deprived partner. She was phenomenal! Her calm, cool demeanor was something we needed when we didn't know what to do. I had BAD hip pain that I was having trouble managing on my own. After calling Elizabeth over, she knew exactly where to add pressure on my hips to relieve some of the pain before we hit the hospital. She suggested how to adjust the TENS unit patches to help manage such pain before heading over to the hospital. She even knudged when to go to the hospital. She was with us for all the decisions at the hospital (i.e. took the initiative to ask the anesthesiologist what to do when my epidural fell out. Originally the anesthesiologist gave us options but we wanted to know his recommendation). She even snapped the best birth photos! She kindly moved our stuff from the delivery room to the post partum unit. She truly listens to your concerns and wants the best for you and your family. I can sense the love and care from her. Elizabeth was wonderful and I truly believe with her help, we had a great delivery. Highly recommended :) Fyi Elizabeth had a similar structure to most Doulas in the area: 2 prenatal zoom visits, labor and delivery support, and 1 post natal visit.

Hiring a doula for one of the most intimate moments of your life is a hard task, and I couldn't be…read morehappier that I found doula Elizabeth. She brings years of birthing experience, so much knowledge, and a warm calm personality to the delivery room. Her prenatal visits helped calm any nerves I had, and she was so helpful in setting expectations and birth plans. During labor she was immensely helpful- suggesting positions, keeping me hydrated, a hand to hold, applying warm compresses, and checking in with the medical team. She always knew what to do! Her help also allowed my partner to be present in the birth experience by not having to worry as much as we welcomed our first baby. I hoped to have an intervention free birth in hospital, which isn't necessarily the easiest thing to have, and with doula Elizabeth's help I was able to achieve that. Welcoming my baby in a happy, calm, peaceful environment was such an amazingly wonderful experience. If you're looking for a wonderfully caring and super knowledgeable doula- look no further. Doula Elizabeth is amazing!

I found Lauren through the Evidence Based Birth website. I was so grateful to have a doula who was…read moreup to date on the research and would help support us in pushing against some unnecessary hospital conventions while still being generally pro-medicine. Lauren was very responsive and helpful throughout our pregnancy. We had great prenatal visits and texted and emailed about some concerns that arose. Lauren always replied promptly with great insight and calm. She was just the same way on the day I gave birth. I texted her early in the day that I was feeling contractions but I thought they might be Braxton Hicks. She suggested I focus on other things and time again in a few hours. Later that night it became clear I was going into labor. I waited a bit too long before asking Lauren to come - I had just started to feel the urge to push when she arrived. But I knew I was in safe hands. She drove me to the hospital while my husband grabbed our bag. Along the way she bent over so I could lean on her through the contractions. I gave birth to our beautiful baby girl 40 minutes after we arrived at the hospital. Lauren cooled my face with a cold towel and massaged me through the contractions. She also took lovely photos just after the birth. An hour later, I turned up my husband and said, "I could do that again." It was no doubt thanks in part to Lauren's emotional and physical support. She stayed another 2-3 hours after the birth as well to make sure we were all settled. Lauren has also been helping a new doula Emily train. Emily attended our birth as well and it was helpful to have her extra set of hands!

I sent an inquiry about availability and setting up a consultation for being my birth doula BUT…read moreShe's not accepting clients right now due to being a recent mom. I appreciated her prompt response to inform me.